The Sopranos: A Viewer's Glossary

1 1999 Greg GaglianoA Viewer's GlossaryforItalian, Southern Italian and Sicilian Dialect Phrases and Naughty Wordsby Greg GaglianoA Guide for Midwesterners and other Madigans of Non-Italian Descent 1999 Greg GaglianoThis is the area of New Jersey where "The Sopranos" takes that the Soprano family is not Sicilian given that Sicilians are most often associated with the Mafia. 1999 Greg GaglianoA Quickie Guide to Italian PronunciationVowels:All vowel sounds are pronounced. No "silent e" as in are pure - "I" sounds like the "I" in "Italian". They do not have a compound soundlike the "I" in the English which has a "long I" followed by a "long E", that is, we don't say "Eyetalian".Diphthongs and Consonants:ci, ce make the English "chi, che" sound (like "checkers")gi, ge make the English "j" sound (like "jelly")zz makes the English "tz" sound (like "pizza" or "pits")s makes the English "z" if there is a vowel on either side of the "s", otherwise it makes the usual English "s" soundss makes the English "s" soundsci, sce makes the English "sh" sound (like "she" and "shell")gn makes the "nya" sound as in "Onion"gli makes a sound similar to the "ill" in "Million"chi, che make the English "k" sound (like "kiwi" and ketchup )ghi, ghe make the English "hard g" sound (like "giddy" and get )ho, ha have a silent "h" so only the vowel is heard (as in English "oh" and "ah")Accent Marks:Hey, this is just a quickie guide so let's not worry about these.

2 J 1999 Greg GaglianoGLOSSARYNota bene: Italian is a very expressive and subtle language. The exact meaning of a word is sometimes difficult totranslate since meanings can change based on the context of the word and inflection of voice. The definitionspresented here are fa Nabila (Southern Italian dialect) literally "Go to Naples", generally used as "Go to hell" since Naples at one time was not considered a very nice ! (Southern Italian dialect) Enough!Agita (Southern Italian dialect) heart burn, managia (Southern Italian dialect) shucks, shoot, damn, darn, etc. Sometimes pronounced "manugia" or "manegia".Antipasto (Italian) literally "before the meal", refers to assorted Italian appetizers generallyconsisting of roasted sweet red peppers; meats such as salami, cappicola,and prosciutto; cheeses such as provolone and gorgonzola; marinatedartichoke hearts; seafood such as anchovies, squid and tuna; and Italianbread (or snack crackers). Oh, and don't forget the (Italian) salt cod, but often used by Southern Italians as an insult meaning fool, (Southern Italian dialect) bigoted (Italian) thinly sliced flank steak which is rolled and filled with cheese, breadcrumbs, parsley, garlic and sometimes pignoli (pine nuts).

3 Served as aside dish with pasta, it is often pronounced "bra joel" in dialect fortuna (Italian) good (Southern Italian dialect) dilect form of chiacchierone meaning big mouth, big talker, blow hard, (Southern Italian dialect) a type of filled bread/pizza dough. Filling depends on the region, but most Americans are familiar with such fillings as sausage, peppers, cheese with tomato (Italian) pastry shell filled with flavored, sweetened ricotta regio (Italian) literally "head of a region" and gangster-speak for a dialecized form of "capitano" which means captain. Gangster-speak for a boss. 1999 Greg GaglianoCappicola (Italian) spiced Italian ham, also dialecized as "cap i coal" or "capa gool".Cavatelli (Italian) a type of pasta in the shape of small, smooth pea (Southern Italian dialect) cucumber or stupid (when used as an insult), pronounced "chi drool eh".Ciuccio (Southern Italian dialect) jackass, often pronounced "chooch".

4 Come stai? (Italian) How are you?Come zee bell. (Sicilian dialect) How (Southern Italian dialect) mistress, also pronounced as "coo mahd" or "goo mahd".Faccia brutta (Italian) an insult literally meaning "ugly face."Faccia questa cosi (Italian) literally "[You have] a face like this" where "this" is expressed via pointing to some object or using descriptive hand (Southern Italian dialect) gay, fag, often pronounced "fenook", and based on the Italian word for fennel ("finocchio") which can also be used, in context, to mean homosexual. Supposedly, the use of "finocchio" for "gay" has roots in the middle ages, homosexuals were burned at the stake and fennel seeds were sprinkled on the embers to help cover the (Italian) - (Southern Italian dialect) fuck. Usually pronounced "fung gool".Gaguzza (Southern Italian dialect) squash or zucchini (or the flowers of these which are fried and used in omelets), often used as a term for butt, behind, rear end.

5 Often pronounced "ga gootz" or "ca gootz" or "goo gootz".Gavone (Southern Italian dialect) idiot, lazy good-for-nothing; sometimes pronounced "cavone" or "cafone".Giamope (Southern Italian dialect?) idiot, lame brain, half-wit. Sometimes pronounced ja mook .Goomba (Southern Italian dialect) dialect form of "compaesano" meaning compatriot, fellow countryman, comrade. 1999 Greg GaglianoMadigan (Southern Italian dialect) literally "American," used to describe any American of non-Italian descent. Often pronounced "Merigone".Malocchio (Italian) rhymes with Pinocchio, literally means "the evil eye" and is an Italian curse. Sometimes dialecized as "mal oik" or "mal oak".Mangia (Italian) [You] eat; a common command in Italo-American (Southern Italian dialect) literally "Madonna" ( the Blessed Virgin Mary, not the pop star), generally used as "damn" or "damn it". Sometimes pronounced "ma don".Mulignon (Southern Italian dialect) a black person, sometimes used in the same context as "nigger"; pronounced "mool in yon", often shortened to "moolie".

6 Musciada (Southern Italian dialect) usually pronounced moosh ahd , meaning mushy, as in over-cooked pasta (yuck!).Napoleon (French) cream-filled, filo dough pastries topped with white and chocolate icing in a zigzag pattern. Although these are of French origin, they are almost always found in Italian pastry - (Italian) - form of compaesano; see goomba. Often pronounced "pie zan" and commonly used by (Italian) the smallest pasta, shape like little stars, used in soup or served plain with a little milk and butter; fed to kids, sick people and really old people since it doesn t require chewing and is easily digestible. Pasteen" in (Italian) crazy, often dialecized as "obatzo" or "ubatz" when meaning "you're crazy".Poveretta (Italian) unfortunate one, (Italian) (Italian) (Sicilian dialect) stink, bad smell, sometimes used as "shit".Ricotta (Italian) soft, re-cooked cheese, often pronounced "ri gawt" in (Italian) a cent anno (Italian) traditional Italian toast meaning "health for 100 years.

7 " Often pronounced as "saloot a chin don". 1999 Greg GaglianoScecco (Sicilian) jackass, also scecchino (little jackass).Schifosa (Southern Italian Dialect) dirty, or dirty, lousy, rotten when referring to a (Southern Italian dialect) literally "sperm of the devil", used loosely to describe somebody as a bum, but much, much worse. A really naughty, bad word. Often pronounced "fa cheem".Si (Italian) yes. And no means no. No Glossary would be complete without (Southern Italian dialect) jerk, retard. Stoo gatz (Southern Italian dialect) dialect form of questo cazzo literally meaning this dick but often used as yeah right, or forget it, or fuck it. Note that Tony s boat is named Stugotz .Stunade - (Southern Italian dialect) stupid, often pronounced as "stoo nod."Sta ta zee (Sicilian dialect) be quiet, shut (Italian) type of pastry made of thinly layered dough (like filo) that looks like a clam shell, often pronounced as "svolia tell".

8 Tizzuna (Sicilian dialect) dirty, generally used as a derogatory term for a black person,sometimes pronounced "tit soon".Va fungool (Southern Italian dialect) go fuck [yourself]. Whyos (American slang) the Whyos ( Why-oh s ) were one of five of five major gangs in New York City, specifically Manhattan, in the late 19th Century. Though not an Italian-based word, it was used frequently in the show beginning in the third (Italian) a very soft wine custard usually served over fruit or pound Terms (possibly from an unfamiliar dialect or "made up")BorabilaSinuce ("sinooch") 1999 Greg GaglianoOther interesting that the Sopranos occasionally use Sicilian dialect although their roots are in Avellino (nearNaples) which means their native dialect is Campano. The use of a dialect other than their ownis unusual. Most of the expressions used on the show are found in the Campano, Pugliese,Lucano, Salentino, and Calabrese dialects. Sicily, in essence, has a language all its use of hereditary family names (surnames) in Italy is relatively recent (about 400 years).

9 Most names are descriptive and often have roots in the names of people, places or is an uncommon Italian surname. Oddly, it is not derived from the Italian word"soprano" which is the highest singing voice of a woman or young boy. It may takemeaning from the root word, "sopra" means "over" as in "over the top".Dr. Melfi's surname is a derivative of the name La Malfa which comes from the Arabicword for "port" (al-marfa). Names derived from Arabic are most common in Sicily and 1999 Greg Gaglianoextreme southern Italy since these areas were invaded and ruled by the Byzantines (~500AD) and the Saracens from Africa (827 AD) until the were expelled by the Normans(who were on their way to the Crusades) in 1046 Moltisanti has an occupative surname (ecclesiastical) meaning "manysaints". His character needs help from as many saints as he can Bompensiero's surname means "good thinker". A bit of comic irony for thischaracter! It would be far more interesting to know how he got his first Bucco s surname is a derivation of bocco meaning "simpleton".

10 The name seemsto fit his character pretty Junior's given name, Corrado ("Conrad" in English), is more commonly found as asurname derived from Spanish. Names with Spanish origins are somewhat common insouthern Italy since these areas were invaded by Charles V of Spain in 1515 as part of adivision of the Italian peninsula with Valois Francis I of France. Spain ruled oversouthern Italy until the War of Spanish Succession (1701 - 1714) when the region fellunder the control of Cusimano s name has Spanish origins where "Cusi" is patronymical and "Mano"refers to "the hand". Interestingly, mano = hand is the same in Italian and Spanish, yet itis a word taken from the Greek Uncle Junior and Dr. Cusimano, Greg Gagliano's surname is derived from a Spanishname (Gallo). Gagliano is a variation of the name Galliano which refers to "rooster" inthe sense of strutter, bully, or lady-killer. Apparently, one of his ancestors loved to struthis or maybe he was simply a chicken Newark Star-Ledger (referred to on the show as "the Star Ledger") is New Jersey's largestnewspaper and serves the northern half of the state (though many people simply get the NJedition of the NY Daily News or NY Times).